Text/Historical Exploration Agency
All of the information stated in this article is based on reliable sources of information and is detailed at the end of the article
Lu Xiaoman is a legendary woman in the Republic of China period, her life is full of twists and turns, especially her love, at the same time, she is innocent and straightforward, and dares to love and hate in emotional matters.
Just looking at the photos, the first feeling is that Lu Xiaoman is not a big beauty, she is not a standard melon seed face, the outline is not smooth, the facial features are not delicate when you look at it alone, and the face is slightly flattened and lacks three-dimensionality.
But the strange thing is that her facial features are combined to be much more pleasing to the eye, although it is not amazing, but it gives people a very gentle feeling.
Just looking at the photos, in that era, she was really not one of the "Four Beauties of the Republic of China", but the strange thing is that everyone spoke highly of her beauty at that time.
Xu Zhimo said: Her eyes are also talking, and the light in her eyes is swinging, the secret of the heart spring.
This evaluation will not be made out of nothing, so what did Lu Xiaoman rely on to win everyone's favor?
It should be her celebrity temperament and inner talent, and the celebrity temperament is cultivated from a young age.
Lu Xiaoman, formerly known as Lu Manji, was born in Shanghai on the 19th day of the ninth lunar month in 1903.
She was born in a family of eunuchs, and was raised by the rich since she was a child, and her family conditions are superior.
Her father Lu Ding had studied in Japan, and after returning from school, he founded the China Savings Bank, and her mother Wu Manhua had a deep cultural accomplishment, a very high level of calligraphy and painting, and under the influence of this cultural atmosphere, she also had an education level that was not inferior to her parents.
Lu Xiaoman inherited her mother's talent in painting since she was a child, and also developed a strong interest in painting.
When I was a child, I went to kindergarten in Shanghai, and at the age of 6, I studied in the Girls' Primary School of Beijing Women's Normal University, and at the age of 9, I entered the Beijing Girls' Middle School.
At that time, secondary school education was itself a consumption of the wealthy, and even fewer women were able to receive secondary education.
When she was 15 years old, her father sent her to the French-run Sacred Heart School, which at that time was a prestigious and aristocratic school, where most of the young masters and young ladies of Beijing's powerful families studied.
Lu Ding also specially invited a British female teacher for his daughter to teach English, Lu Xiaoman is smart by nature, at the age Chinese of sixteen or seventeen, he has spoken English and French, and he also plays the piano well, and is good at oil painting.
She has both the intelligence of a Shanghai girl and the beauty and dignity of a Beijing girl.
In 1922, Lu Xiaoman, who was only 19 years old, started his first marriage, and the Lu family couple carefully selected Wang Geng, a wishful man, to connect Lu Xiaoman, so that the two got married.
Wang Geng graduated from Tsinghua University and studied military affairs at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was a classmate of the famous American General Eisenhower.
Lu Xiaoman's mother was very satisfied with the young and talented Wang Geng, so she did not hesitate to marry Lu Xiaoman to him, and the two lasted less than a month from the engagement to the completion of the marriage.
This marriage was a typical gentleman and lady marriage in the upper class at that time, and the wedding of the two was also held with great momentum, the wedding was held in the luxurious "Navy Gala" at that time, and the combination of the two attracted many famous nobles to attend their wedding, and Lu Xiaoman married Wang Geng in such a beautiful way.
But this marriage without feelings from the beginning is not destined to last long, and the arranged marriage on the orders of his parents also laid the groundwork for the later breakdown of the relationship between the two.
The two were married for less than half a year, and their relationship fell into a deep crisis, because Lu Xiaoman's "true son" Xu Zhimo appeared.
As fate would have it, Xu Zhimo and Wang Geng were both protégés of Liang Qichao, and the two were also friends, so Xu Zhimo became a frequent visitor to the Wang family.
But because Wang Geng focused on his work and future, he couldn't accompany Lu Xiaoman, so he often asked Xu Zhimo, a close friend, to accompany Lu Xiaoman to play, but he didn't expect Xu Zhimo to take advantage of the situation and intervene in his already unstable marriage.
Xu Zhimo's company of Lu Xiaoman led to a big crisis in the marriage of Lu Xiaoman and Wang Geng, Wang Geng did not expect that his former best friend would betray him with his new wife.
When Wang Geng was not at home, Xu Zhimo often came to find Lu Xiaoman, and took her to visit the Great Wall, visit the overpass, come to Jinyuxuan to drink tea, and go to Xishan to see the red leaves...... One of them is a fair lady, the other is a genius in Jiangnan, and the spark of love burst out between them.
The place that records the love story of Xu Zhimo and Lu Xiaoman is also a Crescent Club club in Pine Alley.
Lu Xiaoman loves literature and art and participates in the Crescent Society, while Xu Zhimo is a talented poet, the two have similar interests and deepen their feelings.
The spark of love between the two is intensifying, you must know that Lu Xiaoman has been yearning for romance and art since he was a child, and Xu Zhimo happens to be both, and he is also a famous contemporary poet, and the two can be described as soul mates.
Lu Xiaoman went through many twists and turns and finally divorced Wang Geng.
Although Xu Zhimo's father reluctantly agreed to the marriage of Lu Xiaoman and Xu Zhimo, he put forward three conditions: first, the marriage expenses are taken care of, and the family will not bear it; 2. The wedding must be introduced by Hu Shi, and Liang Qichao will witness the marriage, otherwise it will not be recognized; 3. After getting married, you must return to the south and live in peace.
In order to defend his love with Lu Xiaoman, Xu Zhimo agreed to these three conditions.
Lu Xiaoman and Xu Zhimo finally held a wedding in Beihai Park after overcoming all difficulties, because their wedding was opposed by their parents, so they could only pay out of their own pockets, so there was no ceremony, and the wedding held when Lu Xiaoman married Wang Geng was a world of difference, Liang Qichao, as Xu Zhimo and Wang Geng's former teacher, was also very dissatisfied with their marriage.
Sure enough, this marriage that no one is optimistic about has made Xu Zhimo suffer, and because of Lu Xiaoman's luxurious life, Xu Zhimo is gradually unable to do it.
He had to wear many hats, most of the universities he taught were in Beiping, Lu Xiaoman was reluctant to leave Shanghai, Xu Zhimo had to travel between places, physically and mentally tired, and Lu Xiaoman was infected with opium and swallowed clouds and fog all day long, and the couple often quarreled about it.
Now although the two have finally become married, Xu Zhimo and Lu Xiaoman no longer have the kind of relationship before marriage, the love that Lu Xiaoman wants may be just passion, she is emotionally a person who will not be idle for a lifetime.
Later, in order to catch up with Lin Huiyin's lecture on ancient Chinese architecture in the auditorium of Peking Union Medical College that night, Xu Zhimo couldn't wait to take a postal plane to fly to Beijing.
Unexpectedly, this time the plane crashed, and the talented poet fell, and Lu Xiaoman was so grief-stricken that he was bedridden all day long.
In 1931, Xu Zhimo died on a plane, Xu Zhimo's death made Lu Xiaoman regretful, she wrote in front of her desk, "The days are long and the time is endless, this hatred is endless", and never went out to socialize again.
After Xu Zhimo died, it was like the sky was falling for Lu Xiaoman, she wore plain clothes all day long, refused all entertainment venues, closed her door, was sick in bed, and became haggard, only staying with Weng Ruiwu every day.
Weng Ruiwu is a friend of Xu Zhimo, when Lu Xiaoman is ill, Weng Ruiwu often massages him, and after Xu Zhimo passed away, Weng Ruiwu has always taken care of Lu Xiaoman.
Hu Shi, as a former friend of Lu Xiaoman, couldn't bear to see her like this, so he proposed to let her leave Weng Ruiwu and let him be responsible for her living expenses.
As a result, Lu Xiaoman refused, on the grounds that she had been with Weng Ruiwu for many years, and now Weng Ruiwu's health was not good, and she couldn't get rid of him.
Lu Xiaoman later made up her mind to quit smoking, live a simple and simple life, and return to what Xu Zhimo expected, but the person is dead, and she can't see Xu Zhimo change after all.
She can only pick up the brush again, join the calligraphy and painting club, and collect the works of her deceased husband, so that her heart will feel better.
Throughout Lu Xiaoman's life, it can be said that she is a woman who integrates thousands of favors, but because of arrogance and extravagance, she will play a good hand of cards, which is embarrassing.
In 1963, 60-year-old Lu Xiaoman's photo, at this time she looked no different from an ordinary old lady, and she couldn't see the shadow of a beautiful woman at all.
This photo was taken in Shanghai, at this time Lu Xiaoman sat on a stone, wearing a wide plain clothes, a pair of flat cloth shoes, because he was too thin, his cheekbones were prominent, his eye sockets were deep, his hair was sparse and scattered, his eyes lost his aura, and his face was white and blue.
Because she was too thin and thin, her once round and full face had dried up, her cheekbones protruded, her eye sockets were deep, her teeth fell out, her eyes lost their former aura and brilliance, and her hair was just combed behind her ears at will, without any beauty.
On April 3, 1965, Lu Xiaoman died at the age of 62.
Lu Xiaoman also had no children in her life, which left her ashes unclaimed after cremation after her death, and her ashes were unclaimed until 23 years later, when her cousin and niece built a tombstone for her.
The inscription on the tombstone is very simple: "First Aunt Lu Xiaoman Memorial Tomb".
Throughout Lu Xiaoman's life, the first half of his life was dazzling, and he attracted much attention as a celebrity; The second half of his life is extremely lonely, the evening scene is bleak, and he has no one to rely on, which is really sad.
Resources:
Beiqing.com - Lu Xiaoman divorced Xu Zhimo, Xu's father promised to marry but there were problems (pictured) 2010-05-05
Guangzhou Daily - Lu Xiaoman's lifelong love: Xu Zhimo is just a dance partner 2009-07-16